Boulder Issue 2D: Long-term leases on city property well ahead

A charter amendment that would allow Boulder to enter into 30-year leases for some city properties -- instead of the current 20 years -- is well ahead Tuesday evening.

With 64 percent counted out of an anticipated 173,890 ballots cast countywide, 70.5 percent voted in favor of the measure, and 29.5 percent voted against it.

Many community institutions have long-term leases with the city, including the Boulder Municipal Airport, the Colorado Chautauqua Association, the Dairy Center for the Arts, A Spice of Life Event Center and the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art. However, those organizations have sometimes struggled to secure financing or large donations because they can only enter into 20-year leases.

City leaders have asked the voters twice before to allow longer leases on city property. In 2007, nearly 61 percent of voters said "no" to a charter amendment that would have allowed 40-year leases. In 2008, the vote was much closer, with 51 percent rejecting the proposal.

This time, voters were presented with a shorter lease term -- 30 years -- in the hopes that would make them more open to the charter amendment.

Approving leases longer than 20 years would require a two-thirds majority of the City Council, according to the proposed ballot language. Longer leases also would have to show they offered a "public benefit," like generating revenue for the city, creating jobs or providing important services not offered by the city.

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